For you fantasy football folks

This year I thought I’d experiment by offering advice on fantasy football matchups. So, feel free to put up a comment with your matchup questions on any post (I see all comments in my personal email) and I’ll try to respond as soon as I can. (And, feel free to put up some questions if you haven’t had your draft yet.)

Just to forewarn you, I sometimes take an unconventional approach to matchups – I’m not afraid to rely on a hunch and less subjective factors. For those worried about this last sentence and the potential for wacky advice, I did win a good league last year so my method has worked at least at times in the past.

5 Responses to “For you fantasy football folks”

Dave – Arian Foster (injury) and Chris Johnson (holdout, then likely hamstring injury) are not in my top 10.

1) Ray Rice – w/Leach blocking he should be extra good (will lose some touches to Ricky Williams)
2) AP – I think he’ll be better this year than past b/c of McNabb (whose competence this year will surprise people)
3) Peyton Hillis – can’t figure out why he’s ranked so low in all the preseason rankings. he did slow down at the end of last year but he’ll be very good again this year. (And remember, Hillis is a highly underrated receiver.) And Cleveland could be solid.
4) Michael Turner – While Atlanta definitely has a better overall offense, Turner at full strength will still get his touches/TDs.
5) MJD – if he’s truly healthy, I think he’ll get back into it. The only D in the AFC South that could be decent is Houston, so I think MJD will be particularly productive within the division (and backup Rashad Jennings apparently is dinged up – so MJD should get the bulk of the carries).
6) LeSean McCoy – While Vick will get scores and their now quality WR group will get scores, I think McCoy will still be quite active picking up good yards and at least 10 TDs on the year. He will remain Vick’s safety dump off option (78 receptions last year).
7) Jamaal Charles – He is too talented to put any lower than this. His only issue is that Thomas Jones will continue to steal carries and take away TDs. I also think the KC passing game will expand beyond Dwayne Bowe (to Steve Breaston – great sleeper) which may limit some of the TD opportunities.
8) LeGarrette Blount – flier I know, but I think he’s a monster and with Cadillac gone, I think he could be monstrous this year.
9) Steven Jackson – though Cadillac may eat into his workload and Bradford will be throwing a ton in McDaniels offense, that may be just what Jackson needs. A relatively fresh Jackson is scary for any defense. He could be really good this year in fact and may be ranked too low here.
10) TIE. Fred Jackson, Knowshon Moreno and Felix Jones – fliers I know. Buffalo has the advantage of being 100% under the radar. And someone has to generate offense – so why not the underrated Fred Jackson? With one full year under the new system with Chan Gailey and without Marshawn Lynch in the mix, Jackson will be THE guy and people will see just how good he is. Knowshon, if he stays healthy, will benefit from a John Fox emphasis on the running game. He will be THE guy as well and could do some real damage against weak AFC West run defenses. Felix is now finally THE guy as well and I expect the Dallas offense to be really explosive this year (romo is high on my QB list). Felix should have a breakout year this year.

Joel – First of all, I hope that this is a question about who to take as a backup QB (or I hope you’re in a league where the contributions of QBs do not matter much). Neither of these guys would crack my top 10 (maybe my top 15, but not top 10). Matthew Stafford has far more upside if you’re looking for a sleeper type.

I like Bradford this year in good part because he’ll be in a system run by Josh McDaniels…a guy who likes to pass. Bradford is a bit raw yet and I don’t think he has great guys to throw to, but I think he’d be the more likely player to produce consistently this year.

That said, I actually don’t think McCoy will be far behind. In fact, while Bradford would be the safer choice, I think there is a greater possibility that McCoy may actually have a breakout season – if that makes sense. Cleveland is going to be better than most folks think this year. Now that McCoy feels he has some decent pass targets (he already has a decent line), I think he’ll be good.